Tag Archive: gujarat


Indian state of Gujarat plans a 1GW solar power plant

Filed Under: Solar Posts by raveesh —
August 10, 2012

With renewable energy the in thing nowadays, the state government is exploring the possibility of setting up a 1,000 MW solar power project. The government has initiated talks with International Finance Corporation (IFC), a World Bank arm, seeking its support for the project.

“The project is still in the conceptual stage. We have initiated talks with the IFC to seek its support for the project. We will go ahead with it depending on their response,” said DJ Pandian, principal secretary, energy & petrochemicals department.

At the current costs of Rs8 to 9 crore per MW, the 1,000 MW project could cost anywhere between Rs8,000 to 9,000 crore.
The scale of the project can be gauged from the fact that total solar power generation capacity in the country presently stands at around 1,000 MW, including more than 600 MW in Gujarat alone.

The Centre is eyeing solar power generation capacity of 20,000 MW by 2022 under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission. While solar power is the cleanest form of energy, it is also the most expensive, costing four to five times the conventional power. This is solar energy’s biggest drawback, but the state government believes that the price can be brought down to the level of conventional energy.

“We have already managed to bring down cost of solar power from Rs15 per unit to less than Rs10 per unit. With better technologies, there is no reason why prices should not fall further. Our idea is to bring down solar power price at par with the grid, i.e. around Rs3 per unit,” Pandian said further.

The IFC, which is an arm of the World Bank, has said that it is keen to support such a project.

“We have funded quite a few projects in Gujarat, including solar power projects. We are keen to extend the partnership with Gujarat, and are in talks with the government to see how IFC can help in the 1,000 MW solar power project,” Anita George, regional industry director, Asia, infrastructure and natural resources, IFC, told DNA. The IFC official said that the funding agency could tie up with developers to provide funding to them.

“We could also be involved in development of infrastructure and other necessary framework for such a project,” she added.

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Gandhinagar to have 5 MW of rooftop solar power generation capacity on PPP model

Filed Under: Solar Posts by raveesh —
April 21, 2012

Gujarat’s Energy Department today said it will have 5 MW of rooftop solar power generation capacity on PPP model at an estimated investment of Rs 50 crore.

“We have signed agreements with two companies, Azure Power and Sun Edison, to develop 2.5 MW of rooftop solar power each in North and Southern parts of Gandhinagar over the next one year,” Principal Secretary, Department of Energy and Petrochemicals, D J Pandian told reporters.

“Under this model, 80 per cent of government buildings and 20 per cent of residential premises would be covered. The terrace owners would get Rs 3 per unit as roof rent, and also electricity supply from such rooftop installations through the discoms,” he said.

The project would cover 60 buildings including Jeevraj Mehta (JM) Bhawan (old secretariat). The Bhawan is projected to have 17 lakh units clean generation capacity annually, thereby saving over Rs 50 lakh on power bills.

“Once commissioned, the projects would help the state cut down its electricity bills by over 25 per cent” Pandian said.

The 5 MW of rooftop solar power on commissioning is expected to generate 80 lakh units annually.

“The rooftop solar power generation model is proposed to be replicated in Surat, Vadodara, Mehsana, Rajkot and Bhavnagar as well,” Pandian said.

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600 MW solar power projects dedicated to nation

Filed Under: Solar Posts by raveesh —
April 21, 2012

Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi on Friday dedicated over 600 MW of installed solar power projects to the nation and called it a major step towards meeting India’s energy security.

The projects, having potential to generate 30 lakh units of clean energy per day, are spread over several districts. These include Asia’s largest solar park with 214 MW generation capacity at this village in North Gujarat district of Patan.

The park at Charanka, spread across 5,000 acres, has 500 MW of generation capacity of both solar and wind energy. Solar project developers like Alex Astral, US-based Sun Edison, Lanco Solar, Roha Dyechem and GMR Gujarat Solar Power have set up plants in the park.

While 214 MW of grid connected solar power was commissioned at Charanka by 17 national and international companies, 10 solar plants having combined generation capacity of 87.49 MW have gone on stream in Surendranagar, 8 in Kutch (85 MW) and three each in Banaskantha (55.20 MW) and Rajkot (25MW), amongst others.

State utility Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam Ltd (GUVNL) had signed power purchase agreements (PPAs) for 968.5 MW with 85 national and international solar project developers. Of this, 605 MW was commissioned today.

Speaking after dedicating the projects simultaneously from here, Modi termed it as a major step towards meeting the country’s energy security. “Gujarat shall show way to rest of the world in solar energy. Despite being a power surplus state, we are spending Rs 2,000 crore annually on clean energy in our war against climate change,” he said.

The Gujarat Government also announced it will shortly come out with a rooftop solar power plant policy that would enable middle income group families to generate revenue by selling surplus power. “We shall soon come out with a rooftop solar policy as our aim is to produce solar power on rooftops and fields of farmers,” Modi said.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB), which extended USD 100 million financial support to the solar park at Charanka, today announced it would give an additional USD 500 million at concessional terms to Gujarat.

“USD 500 million financial assistance shall be given to Gujarat at concessional terms for four purposes that include assistance for development of smart grid to Gujarat Energy Transmission Corporation Ltd,” ADB Senior Climate Change Energy Division Head Naoki Sakai said.

US Consul General Peter Haas, addressing the gathering at Charanka, said India and America have a broad agenda for development of clean energy technology. The US commitment to solar energy in Gujarat is worth over USD half-a-billion.

“The US Government’s total commitment to solar energy initiatives in Gujarat is worth over USD half a billion in finance, insurance and investment fund support,” said Haas.

“I am proud that three US Government agencies- Overseas Private Investment Corporation, US Export-Import Bank and US Trade and Development Agency – have provided financial support to the solar project,” he said.

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Gujarat fixes Final Tariff for new solar power projects (2012 – 2015)

Filed Under: Solar Posts by jasmeetkhurana —
January 28, 2012

Gujarat Electricity Regulatory Commission (GERC) today said that it has fixed the tariff for the solar power projects that will hold for next three years. The control period for the proposed tariff is from January 29, 2012 to March 31, 2015, an official statement said. The levelized tariffs under various categories range from Rs 8.03 per unit to Rs 11.55 per unit,the statement said. In view of the declining trend in the prices of solar photovoltaic (PV) globally, the commission has decided to reduce the tariff by seven per cent every year, during the second and third years of the control period, it said.

 

The final tariff applicable for projects in Gujarat looks as follows:

Gujarat Solar Power Tariff for Plants to be commissioned in time period 2012-2015

You may download the complete tariff order at:

Final Gujarat Solar Tariff Order 1 of 2012 (PDF File)

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India’s biggest solar farm/ installation of 40 MW completed in Kutch- What we need is Net Metering

Filed Under: Solar Posts by jasmeetkhurana —
January 16, 2012

Solar Power in India is growing at a rapid pace boosted by state and federal government subsidies. Besides the large energy deficit and falling Indian solar panel prices are also helping. Adani Power which is one the biggest power producers in India has completed a 40 MW solar farm in Gujarat which makes it the largest /biggest solar farm in India right now.

Note the Indian solar projects are growing continuously and with the possible addition of 1000 mw of solar energy in 2012 we will see much larger solar installations with 100 MW solar farms being planned. Besides solar thermal power plants are bigger in size in general. While the growth of big solar installations is good, India really needs to move to rooftop small solar installations and off grid solar promotion.

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